Another Day in Paradise
by Cloudburst2000
Summary: A story set a few months after the book. TwoBit's perspectives on his relationships with the gang namely Ponyboy...who now seems to be his bestest pal. Can TwoBit protect Pony from the Socs who are out for Greaser blood...mostly Pony's? Possibly slash.
1. Default Chapter

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Notes: This story takes place around mid-summer after the book ends. Yes, Johnny and Dally are dead. No, they are not coming back…except maybe in flashbacks. This story is going to be from Two-Bit's perspective, not enough of those stories around in my opinion. It will deal with Two-Bit's relationships with the gang, namely Ponyboy.

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Disclaimer: Yes, I own Ponyboy and Two-Bit *salivates* What?! You don't believe me?! Okay, fine! So I don't own them or any of the other characters from the book. I just like to steal them and use them as marionette puppets in my lurid fantasies. I'm not making any money on this so don't bother suing 'cause I don't have any money to give you. My phone bill is already overdue and the phone company will be getting my money first so I can keep using the internet. And yes, I stole the title from the Phil Collins song of the same name…not making any money off that either.

I do however own any original characters. If you want to use them or any similar situations from my stories, just ask. And if you want to post this story to another site, just drop me a line, 'k. And please review. I'm new to this fandom so I'm sure I'll make mistakes. Please tell me about them if you see them. And please try to leave constructive comments. I would appreciate the help. Also, I'm not quite sure where this story is going yet. I might just do a friendship fic or it might evolve into a slash fic…I just don't know. Just thought I'd warn anyone of the possibility. 

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Another Day in Paradise

A soft red glow penetrated the early morning dawn. The amber light brightened momentarily as the burning embers of the cigarette were stoked when the individual strolling down the shoulder of the road took a deep draw from the cigarette. As the figure passed under a streetlight, his features were illuminated. Slicked-back, rust-colored hair with sideburns framed a face containing mischievous gray eyes and a smirking mouth. The man's ensemble consisted of a gray Mickey Mouse shirt, blue jeans, and tattered sneakers. Two-Bit Matthews appeared to be meandering carelessly down the road, but appearances tend to be deceiving. Two-Bit was definitely on the alert. It was unwise to let one's guard down in this section of town, and Two-Bit was well aware of what was going on around him…which at this time of morning was absolutely nothing.

Two-Bit chuckled to himself as he pondered that he was actually up at this time of the morning. Why he had agreed to meet Ponyboy this early was a mystery to him. That he had actually gotten up when his alarm went off was an even bigger mystery. Two-Bit scratched his head as tried to remember the last time he had _actually_ used the alarm clock. Why did he even own an alarm clock when his mother did a perfectly fine job of dragging his sorry ass out of bed? Two-Bit smiled when he acknowledged that the kid had him wrapped around his little finger. Fishing. He wanted to go fishing! And of course, when Pony turned those sad puppy eyes to him, what did he do? He caved. Two-Bit Matthews didn't cave to anyone…except to Ponyboy Curtis apparently. Two-Bit didn't think he actually had the patience for something as mundane as fishing. A person had to stay still and be quite while they were fishing. Oh, the torture! How would he ever survive?

Two-Bit glanced toward the ever-reddening sky as he sucked more of the tobacco-flavored smoke into his lungs. He snorted silently as he thought that Pony was probably watching the same sunrise. Ponyboy loved nature: sunrises, sunsets…fishing. Two-Bit drew near to the Curtis' house and sure enough, Ponyboy was sitting on the porch steps watching the sun crest on the horizon. Two-Bit smiled and shook his head. Who would have ever believed that Ponyboy Curtis would end up being the best friend he ever had? Sure, Two-Bit had lots of pals. He had the whole gang plus lots of other friends, but Ponyboy was special. Darry was the leader of the gang, the big brother to everyone, but he wasn't really anyone's best friend. Soda and Steve already had each other. Pony had a best friend in Johnny, but Johnny was gone. Two-Bit, who had always been the jokester of the group, had made it his mission to pull Pony's spirits up, to make Pony laugh and smile again. Somehow his mission to just cheer up Ponyboy had backfired. He had come to depend on Pony just as much as Pony depended on him. He and Ponyboy had become inseparable, doing everything together. Losing Johnny and Dally had been bad, but Two-Bit and the gang had somehow pulled through. However, Two-Bit wasn't sure that he'd be able to cope if anything were to happen to Pony.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the depressing thoughts, Two-Bit approached the porch where Ponyboy was sitting. Pony was concentrating so intensely on the sunrise that he had not even noticed Two-Bit's approach. Two-Bit rolled his eyes. How many times had he warned Pony against going off into his own little world and being oblivious to his surroundings. He left himself vulnerable to anyone who would use his distraction against him. Not a smart thing to do especially with the recent escalations in tensions between the Greasers and Socs. An evil smile spread across Two-Bit's face. He'd show Ponyboy how dangerous letting down his guard could be.

Two-Bit quietly climbed over the porch railing, and then he stealthily sneaked up behind Ponyboy and pulled him into a chokehold. He jabbed his finger into Pony's side like it was a gun. Pony let out high-pitched squeak before going still. Two-Bit almost let loose a snicker at Ponyboy's spot-on imitation of a mouse. Instead, he lowered his voice and gruffly said, "Give me all your money kid or I'll force you to endure my Mickey Mouse impressions."

Ponyboy rolled his eyes and let his breath out in a great woosh. "Glory, Two-Bit! What ya tryin' to do? Gimme a heart attack?" Jabbing his elbow back, he heard a grunt and Two-Bit's hold loosened. Turning around to see Two-Bit's smirking face, he raised his hand and hit Two-Bit over the top of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Pony mockingly raised his eye brow and said, "You tell me."

Two-Bit leaned his upper body against the railing next to the seat where Ponyboy was sitting. "I told you before kid. You can't let your guard down like that. If I'd been a Soc, you wouldn'ta gotten off so easy."

Ponyboy slouched in his seat and grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. I heard it all before."

Two-Bit flashed Pony a cocky grin and then wagged his finger at him, "Don't be gettin' all smart with me. Jus' lookin' out for ya kid." Two-Bit then grabbed Pony in a headlock with one arm. He used his free hand to muss up Ponyboy's neatly styled Greaser-do. Laughing at the picture Ponyboy made with his hair sticking up in every direction, Two-Bit released his grip and made a dash for the door.

Ponyboy was hot on Two-Bit's tail yelling, "You're gonna pay for that ya dirty scoundrel and stop calling me kid!"

Just before the door slammed shut behind Ponyboy, Two-Bit's voice could be heard laughingly saying, "You quit actin' like one and I'll quit callin' ya one."

~~~So should I continue or should I try another profession? Please leave a review in the box…thank you~~~


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Yes, I realize it's been over a year-and-a-half since I updated this story. Let's just say this past year has been…uh…horrendous to put it mildly. First, the apartment building where I lived caught on fire…no joke. So basically my computer melted, literally, and this whole chapter which was already finished was lost…as well as all the other stories I had been working on. Anywho, I had to move and decided to move back to Kentucky where I was born and raised. Then I had to do the whole finding a new apartment, finding a new job, arguing with the insurance company so they would replace all my junk destroyed in the fire. By the way, if you rent…make sure to have renter's insurance. I'm so glad I did. You have to have your own insurance to replace YOUR stuff even if the fault of the fire was the place you live. Their insurance only covers the costs of repairing the building, etc. It does NOT cover your stuff. And then by beloved kitty-cat died a few weeks after the fire. Not from the fire or anything but from old age. He was eighteen, and I'd had him since elementary school -sigh- He was my baby. I'm still miss my beloved fluff-butt -sniff- Well anyway, I lost my muse for a period of time but now my muse has come back to me. YAY! So on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **Yes, I own Ponyboy and Two-Bit -salivates- What! You don't believe me! Okay, fine! So I don't own them or any of the other characters from the book. I just like to steal them and use them as marionette puppets in my lurid fantasies. I'm not making any money on this so don't bother suing 'cause I don't have any money to give you. And yes, I stole the title from the Phil Collins song of the same name…not making any money off that either.

I do however own any original characters. If you want to use them or any similar situations from my stories, just ask. And if you want to post this story to another site, just drop me a line, 'k. And please review. I'm new to this fandom so I'm sure I'll make mistakes. Please tell me about them if you see them. And please try to leave constructive comments. I would appreciate the help. Also, I'm not quite sure where this story is going yet. I might just do a friendship fic or it might evolve into a slash fic…I just don't know. Just thought I'd warn anyone of the possibility.

This chapter takes place a few hours after the events from the first chapter.

**Another Day in Paradise**

Darry and Sodapop Curtis glanced up from their respective spots on the couch and floor as the front door was flung open and a voiced hollered, "Honey, I'm hoooome!" Darry raised his eyebrows dubiously at the sight of a sopping-wet Two-Bit Matthews standing in the doorway. His eyebrows rose to even higher heights as moments later Two-Bit was shoved aside as an equally wet Ponyboy pushed his way into the living room. Two-Bit shot them a cocky grin as a disgruntled Ponyboy stomped in the direction of the bathroom grumbling about 'stupid wise-cracking Greasers.'

Studying a smirking Two-Bit, Darry asked in an amused voice, "So catch anything?"

A voice hollered from the bathroom, "We woulda had'ta actually fished to catch anything!"

Two-Bit deliberately slammed the front door as he yelled back, "Hey, we fished!" Smiling gleefully, he added, "We jus'…didn' use poles to do it. Anyhow, it's more fun tryin' ta catch 'em with yer bare hands!"

An exasperated snort was heard from the direction of the bathroom. Two-Bit peeked up through his eyelashes to see Ponyboy standing in the doorway of the bathroom holding a towel and shaking his head in mock annoyance. After ascertaining that Pony wasn't truly cross with him, Two-Bit let his gaze meet Ponyboy's and then childishly stuck out his tongue. Pony simply rolled his eyes before turning back inside the bathroom. Two-Bit shook his head slightly in confusion. Sometimes he just didn't understand Ponyboy Curtis. Swimming was more fun than fishing any day. And why had Pony asked him to go fishing anyway. Ponyboy knew him well enough to know he just didn't have that kind of patience. Hell, everyone knew that.

Two-Bit's attention was once again drawn to the bathroom as Pony stepped out with his towel draped around his shoulders. He held a second towel in his hands which he flung in Two-Bit's general direction. The towel didn't quite make the distance and ended up settling squarely over Darry's head.

Two-Bit let out a bark of laughter as he proclaimed, "Now we don' gotta look at yer ugly mug anymore, Dar!"

Soda stifled a laugh as Darry sighed and tugged the light blue towel off his head. He held the towel out to Two-Bit who was lounging by the door. When Two-Bit made no motion to grab the towel, he said, "Dry yerself off ya stupid Greaser. Yer dripping water everywhere."

Two-Bit's gray eyes sparkled mischievously and a truly wicked grin spread across his face. Everyone in the room braced for an explosion of mayhem as that was Two-Bit's specialty. They were not disappointed. With an evil chuckle, Two-Bit took a running leap toward the couch. He landed on the cushions with solid thwack. The couch shuddered ominously but, thankfully, did not collapse. Darry glared at Two-Bit who just grinned back. Huffing in indignation, Darry thrust the towel into Two-Bit's hands. Two-Bit cocked his head to the side as he considered the towel in his hands. Shrugging, he chucked the towel over his shoulder and shook his head vigorously like a wet dog causing water droplets to spray across the room.

"Damnit, Two-Bit!" Darry groused, "We just cleaned in here. Social services is comin' by later to check up on us."

Two-Bit had the grace to look ashamed as he muttered, "Oops." Those social services guys would have to go through him to ever take Ponyboy away. Goddamn social service sonofabitches!

Pony jumped to Two-Bit's defense. "It's only water, Darry. It'll dry." Ponyboy shot a small grin at Two-Bit. Two-Bit gave him a genuine smile in return. It had become their habit to always stand up for each other when the others in the gang, namely Darry, reprimanded them for something. Two-Bit enjoyed getting under Darry's skin, and Pony didn't mind helping him do it. There was nothing more fun in life than irritating Darrel Curtis. Of course, you couldn't take it too far or Darry would be likely to be the tar outta ya.

Smirking, Two-Bit concurred, "Yeah, Darry. It'll dry. And water's clean so the place'll be even more clean now." Two-Bit nodded his head at his own astounding logic. Darry simply sighed again while Pony and Soda laughed. Two-Bit liked making people laugh…especially Ponyboy.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Darry groaned, "At least, get your lazy ass off the couch in them wet clothes!" Two-Bit, in a fit of childish temper, adopted an arrogant pose by sticking his nose in the air and pompously crossing his arms over his chest all the while settling himself more firmly against the cushions of the couch. Darry simply growled before reaching over and shoving Two-Bit off the couch and onto the floor. Two-Bit landed in a heap on the floor. "Ow!" Glaring at Darry as he rubbed his backside, he asked, "What the hell was that for?"

Smirking, Darry answered, "'Cause ya smell bad, ya filthy greaser."

Two-Bit's eyes narrowed as he glared at Darry. Then his brow wrinkled as if in deep thought. Cocking his head to the side, he lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit. Looking at Soda, Two-Bit asked, "Do I really smell bad?"

Two-Bit heard an amused snort come from the direction of the bathroom. Glancing up, he saw a shirtless Ponyboy exit the bathroom. His head was bent over and he was vigorously rubbing his wet hair with a towel. When he finished, he looped the towel around his neck. Ponyboy then raised his eyes to take in the other occupants of the room. His greenish-grey eyes darkened in confusion as his brothers and Two-Bit broke into snickers. Pony was soon enlightened as an amused Two-Bit drawled, "Tuff hair there, Pony." Ponyboy's eyes widened and he wheeled around to glance at the mirror visible through the bathroom door. His normally meticulously slicked-back hair was sticking out from his head in all directions. Running to the bathroom sink, he grabbed the hair oil as he started bring some sense of order to his unruly locks. Two-Bit smiled and shook his head as one thought ran through his mind, "Ah, this is the life."

-Please leave a review in the box. Thanks for reading.-


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